You're preoccupied with work, school, children and other responsibilities that you tend to forget what it means to enjoy your inner peace. Bringing peace into your life is easy. Some people make it difficult because they choose to overlook it or even live in anger. They complain, criticize and detest everything around them. Obviously, not everything goes as planned but instead of living in chaos and distress, stop what you are doing for a moment and think of the positive things in your life. Peace comes with positivity.

New York City lives up to its nickname: "The city that never sleeps." New Yorkers are constantly on the run. It was a new world for me when I started working in the city at the young age of 17. It was an overwhelming environment, and so was my personal life. Things were never easy. I was often discouraged. One day, I knew I was losing the peace I once had, so I decided to change.

Despite what is currently happening in your life, remember you deserve to experience peace and contentment. Here is how:

Don't overthink things

Let's say your spouse forgets to call you at a certain time. You automatically create various scenarios in your head as to why he didn't call. For example, your spouse is upset with you over a discussion you had earlier that morning, or he is spending time with someone else or he got hurt on the job. Meanwhile, you learn your spouse was caught up working on a deadline and forgot to call. So, when you feel you are about to overthink something, pull back. Think happier thoughts. Put yourself in a pleasant state of mind.

Spend time with your children and family

Get away from the normal routine. Set a mini-vacation or a full day of adventure. Go hiking, biking, the movies or anything that will give you something exciting to look forward to.

Give yourself free time

Turn off your phone, stay away from social media and allow yourself a few hours of tranquility. Go to a quiet place such as a spa or a park and take in the calmness and quietness surrounding you. Embrace your inner peace.

Don't exaggerate a situation

When you exaggerate, you have no idea if that will ever come back to you. Also, if you exaggerate in front of your children, you are setting a bad example. Let's say you attend a star-studded event for work, but not allowed to interact with the stars. Later, you begin to tell all of your friends how you mingled and took pictures with the stars. Meanwhile, one of your friends is friendly with your co-worker and knows you are lying. Exaggerating is lying and lying causes problems. And when there are problems, there's no peace.

Let go of the past

Visit your past and make amends with the painful moments. Obviously, making amends is a process. Take all the time you need, but it's a must to confront those memories. Learn to accept them and let them go. Without letting go of what has hurt you, it is difficult to live a peaceful life.

Walk away from negative situations and people

Drama only brings you down and you will never feel true peace. Not everybody wants the best for others. They enjoy seeing other people struggle and suffer. Therefore, if drama surrounds you in the form of people who love stirring trouble, walk away. Don't look back.

Be grateful

Stop complaining. Complaining every day about everything is doing nothing but creating aggravation. It takes away from your happiness. Things do not always go as you hope, but that's life. Life is unpredictable, and you have to roll with the punches. Be grateful for the blessings your God has bestowed upon you.

Be realistic

It's important to understand your capabilities. Do not make commitments you are unable to follow through with. For example, a close friend asks you to quit your job and partner with him in a brand new business. Before saying yes, you need to consider your financial stability, your children and other factors. You know you can do something, but sometimes the timing isn't right.

Focus on the positive

Create a list of everything wonderful that has happened in your life. Read the list over. You will soon realize that life isn't all that bad.

Be truthful

You may agree with someone just to please him, but down deep you feel otherwise. Hiding your true feelings to accommodate others isn't always the right way to go. Once in a while you want to protect someone you love from pain so you sugarcoat whatever it is. But when you do so constantly, you're doing an injustice. You know you are not helping the person by telling them what he wants to hear. This in turn takes away from your peace of mind. Therefore, speak honestly. You will feel more at peace knowing you spoke the truth than a lie.

Whenever you start feeling overwhelmed or feel you are losing control, don't hesitate to take a step back. Relax your body and mind and welcome peace back into your life.